Brian O’Kelley is the CEO and Co-Founder of AppNexus. As Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Brian leads AppNexus’ strategic initiatives culture. He has more than a decade of leadership experience in the online advertising sector, including his tenure as CTO of Right Media (later sold to Yahoo! in 2007), where he led the creation and commercialization of multiple real-time bidding technologies, including the invention of the world’s first online advertising exchange – the engine that powers and optimizes the real-time purchase and placement of digital advertising. Brian is an inventor of patents that enable AppNexus’ technology to power innovative trading solutions and marketplaces for Internet advertising.

Brian has been an active investor in and early-stage advisor to such startups as Invite Media (acquired by Google in 2010), MediaMath, Dstillery and Solve Media. Brian is also a regular contributor to Forbes on technology-related topics, and among other honors, he has been named to Crain’s 40 Under 40, Adweek 50 and Silicon Alley 100 lists, and was recognized as an E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year in the New York region in 2012.

Brian holds a B.S.E. in Computer Science from Princeton University, where he is an active alumnus. He lives in New York City with his wife and daughter.